Foundation plans to sue Memphis City Council over prayers

Dan Barker, co-president of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., talks Monday, Dec. 1, 2008, about the sign his organization helped place at near a Christian nativity scene at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. during the holiday season. The sign promotes the observance of the winter solstice and is critical of religious beliefs. The organization has had a similar sign in the Wisconsin Capitol building in Madison for the past several years.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation announced plans Sunday to sue the Memphis City Council over the opening prayer said before each meeting, calling it an unconstitutional breach of the separation of church and state.

Dan Barker, co-president of the Wisconsin-based organization, announced the decision in a speech before about 100 people at the Memphis public library Sunday.

"There are cities all over the country that are opening meetings with prayers. Most of the time, it's sectarian, which means to Jesus," Barker said. "Memphis has been on our radar for awhile. The prayers here are a lot more egregious than other areas. ... We think Memphis is the strongest case we can take right now."

Barker said the foundation has been monitoring the council prayers over the Internet, and said they often include sermonizing and proselytizing.

Barker said the foundation expects to file a lawsuit soon, and is looking for other local plaintiffs to join the case. He added that the group plans to hire Chattanooga-based attorney Robin Flores. Flores is the attorney in a similar case in Chattanooga, where two residents sued the Hamilton County Commission over opening prayers. That case is still in the courts.

Memphis City Council Chairman Bill Morrison said Sunday that the council would fight such a suit, with the fight funded by taxpayer dollars.

"I think it is (a worthwhile use)," he said. "It would be my intention as the chairman of the council to fight the lawsuit and continue the practice. This is really just a cheap attempt at publicity by a group that has one set of beliefs."

This isn't the first time the foundation has tangled with the council. In 2009, it sent a letter to the council demanding that the prayers stop. That demand went unheeded, with council members Harold Collins and Myron Lowery both calling the prayers a longtime tradition.

The foundation has also been active in other controversies in this area. Last fall, the foundation successfully fought to eliminate prayers broadcast before DeSoto County high school football games.

The group also fought Whiteville, Tenn., officials over a cross attached to a city-owned water tower. The foundation ultimately reached a settlement in that case that included the city reimbursing it $20,000 for legal fees, Barker said.

"Tennessee has been on our radar a lot," he said.

Barker said his group, founded in 1978, hopes to "work to keep America secular" through court actions and other measures, including letters warning government entities when they step over the line.

He said the foundation sent 565 letters to various governmental groups in 2011 about church-state violations. That number has nearly tripled to more than 1,600 so far in 2012, he added.

While Texas has received the most letters, Barker said Tennessee is in the Top 5.